Day 6 - Black Rapids, ON to Rockland, ON

Rockand, Ontario

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Mr. Frei and Brian did an amazing 33 miles today! There was no waiting at the series of locks in Ottawa, so they made it through all of them in 1 hour. Only two other boats were waiting.

Mr. Frei said that Ottawa was beautiful, but they did not stop at all. They entered the Ottawa River and continued 23 miles to a nice private marina in Rockland. Rockland is a bilingual community located about 40 kilometers (25 miles) east of downtown Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, part of the city of Clarence–Rockland. Rockland has a population of 9,210, The surroundings are very picturesque, but there are no restaurants near the marina, so they will be relying on their own provisions for dinner.

The plan for tomorrow is to row 38 miles to Hawkesbury.  

It sounded like a nice but uneventful day!

Kathy

Mr. Frei and Brian completed the entire Rideau Canal!

Day 5 - Burritt's Rapids, ON to Black Rapids, ON

Brian and Mr. Frei did 31 miles today!  They arrived this evening in Black Rapids and were last seen looking for food.  Tim Horton's was out as an option because it was too far from the boats. 

Although they are now only 9 miles from the Ottawa River, word on the Rideau is that it will take about 6 hours, as there are many locks.

The Swan restaurant in Manotick had a bad review from Brian (Felix), but Mr. Frei (Oscar) really liked it.  I heard that his boeuf au jus was delicious.

They saw many McMansions along the Rideau this afternoon, and one was rumored to belong to Dan Ackroyd.

The weather seems to be changing, so they are hoping for fairer weather tomorrow as they enter Ottawa.

More tomorrow!

Kathy

Many locks in Ottawa

Oscar and Felix on Water (Brian)

 
June 24, Burritt’s Rapids, Ont. --- We went to sleep last night under a violent thunder and lightning storm. The wind was lifting our tents and we thought we might get microwaved. But we woke up alive to pack up wet tents.

This Oscar and Felix thing is coming into clearer definition. In the day Al leads the row. At night I lead the hunt for food.

My friend Albert keeps a special Gatorade bottle his boat that does not contain Gatorade, although in a moment of fatigue you could mistake it for that. Not only does he have that in the boat, but he stores it there until it's full.

I prefer to pull to shore and do my communing with nature's foliage. Call me fussy, but I'm just not going to risk having a chemical spill in my boat and having to row with it.

Al stores his boat right side up at night, with stuff still in it. He bails it out in the morning. I turn my boat over and take all the gear in my tent.

Al for the most part does not get blisters on his hands. Maybe one or two. I have twenty.

Albert is driven to row, and I am not. I stop for pain and to take pictures. He rows on and he would row into the dark if I was not with him. One night we reached a town that might have a restaurant. It was 7pm, raining, and we had rowed for five hours in the rain. Al said, "should we keep going?” I have blisters from trying keep up.

I nibble on nuts in the boat, but Al doesn't care for them. He eats some kind of energy food he calls "globules" and he feeds me boat to boat. Today an orange globule stuck to my arm.

Yesterday morning it started to pour at 6am, just when we should have been getting up. We each knew the other was awake but said nothing until Al called over to my tent, "what do you think?"

I was thinking I wanted a down comforter.

We thought we would row all day in rain, but we pressed on into an overcast day without rain. Loons called out all day, and popped up next to our boats, trilling. We rowed 20 miles on open lakes. We saw pairs of loons every mile or so, mergansers, redwing blackbirds ... Lots of birds we are not good at identifying.

Later Al told me if I had decided not to row in the rain he would have supported me. He didn't want to get out of bed either.



Day 3 - Newboro, Ontario to Smiths Falls, Ontario

The non-bio brothers made it 27 miles today, and are now 60 miles from Ottawa!  They set out at 8 AM this morning in a light drizzle, but the sun managed to come through from time to time during the day. They rowed across the largest lake in the Rideau system, which is reported to be absolutely beautiful.

They actually saw three other boats today, including a Jersey Skiff like the one that Mr. Frei used to own.  They went through one of the locks with a tour boat, and managed to converse with the tourists a little. 

Al spotted a Chinese "all you can eat" buffet in Smiths Falls, but was told no way, so they were off to look for another restaurant when we last heard.  Poor Mr. Frei!

They are through with the open water now, and will be on the Rideau River the rest of the way to Ottawa.

Enjoy some photos of the Smiths Falls area.

Kathy

Garden by the Rideau Canal

Late Day on the Rideau

Don and James work the lock

Paddling the rideau

Day 2 - Washburn, Ontario to Newboro, Ontario

Brian and Mr. Frei had a 24 mile day today, and are now at the summit of the Rideau Canal in Newboro, Ontario.  They have walked into the town looking for a good meal and some fresh provisions.

Mr. Frei described the scenery as looking very much like the narrows at Lake George, without the mountains. There are a lot of islands and charming cottages along the way, as well as many loons.  Apparently, one loon startled Mr. Frei by "barking" alongside his boat.  They only passed two other boats today, so it has been very peaceful.  They went through 10 - 12 locks (one set of 4) and some doubles.

They dined at lunch at the Kenney Hotel. Hopefully, they washed up in the mens' lounge beforehand!  A light rain was with them most of the day, but as they were going to dinner, the rain had stopped.

Tomorrow there will be a long stretch of the canal with no locks, so the total mileage tomorrow may exceed today's.

Brian has written a blog entry, which he will send in as soon as he reaches a place where he can do that.

Total mileage is 36!

Keep watching!

Kathy




Hotel Kenney Ontario